The Voice: Navigating some uncharted waters
December 15, 2015 | Men's Basketball
It's strange to see home losses, but Badgers need the crowd's help more than ever
BY MATT LEPAY
Voice of the Badgers
MADISON, Wis. — All too often, I am guilty of ignoring my own advice. Last week in this very space, your friendly blogger wrote about a Wisconsin basketball team that had been showing signs of improvement, but as a young bunch, it certainly would be vulnerable to some ups and downs.
Sounds reasonable enough. Yet, probably like many of you, the outcome of last week's games at the Kohl Center caught me by surprise.
Why? Because, maybe like at least some of you, I have become spoiled. Spoiled flipping rotten.
This is Bo Ryan's 15th year as the Badgers' head coach. In that time, his players have put together a home court record of 214-25. In non-conference home games, the mark is 108-11. Three of the 11 have happened this season.
In other words, we are witnessing a team entering unfamiliar territory.
A couple of years ago, someone close to the program made one of the more astute observations I've heard in a long time. He said the loudest crowds at the Kohl Center come when fans know there is a decent chance the home team could lose.
Of course, you can say any game is losable, but the Badgers' record in the past decade and a half suggests otherwise. On the home floor, they win nearly 90 percent of the time.
Just not lately. And many of us simply do not know how to handle it.
Believe me, this is not about scolding anyone -- except maybe yours truly.
Being an older observer, I was there for the 1992 loss to Milwaukee at the UW Field House. It was a good Panthers team, led by Craig Greene and Marc Mitchell.
This year's squad, under 11th-year head coach Rob Jeter, has the makings of being pretty good as well. Hopefully, the Panthers will have a big year. They seem to have the right parts to do so.
I have a vague recollection of the back-to-back non-league home losses in 1990 to Southern Indiana and Nebraska. There was some grumbling in Badgerland. But, quite frankly, back then basketball was not nearly as popular around here as it is today.
So it has been 25 years since a Wisconsin men's basketball team has dropped consecutive non-conference home games, and 23 years since it lost to Milwaukee.
In other words, a typical college student has no reference point to what happened last Wednesday and Saturday. For that matter, even your average 30-year-old is too young to have any memory of those bumpy days of UW basketball.
For many younger folks, the toughest stretch they can remember is a six-game Big Ten losing skid in 2009. Still, those Badgers won 20 games and made it to the NCAA tournament, advancing to the round of 32.
Hard times for the Badgers. For many other schools, that would be reason for a parade.
Even for those of us well beyond our 20s and early 30s, we have become quite accustomed to seeing good ol' Bucky somehow pulling out dramatic victories, or drubbing any number of overmatched opponents by 20-30 points.
However, for the time being, the Badgers are no longer considered the top Division I team in the state. Maybe it is Marquette. The Golden Eagles are much improved from just a few weeks ago. Their ability to get out in transition is impressive. Then again, maybe the state's top team is Milwaukee. Since those two programs do not play each other this season, I guess that will remain open to debate.
Oh, and don't let me forget Green Bay. The Phoenix come to the Kohl Center next week. You think those players are eager to get here? I would say so.
So if the rest of us are trying to get a grip on what is going on lately, try to imagine being a player. Especially veterans such as Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, along with Zak Showalter and Vitto Brown.
They are not used to this, and they are busting their behinds trying to fix it.
Which brings me back to those words of wisdom about the decibel level of home crowds being connected with the chances of the home team losing. I hesitate to write this -- after all, you are paying good money to attend the games, and many of you have been doing so for a long, long time.
But let's be honest, while I firmly believe the Badgers will continue to grow and end up being more than a little formidable, those so-called "automatic wins" are in short supply right now. For the players' sake, any help from loyal Badgers fans from the opening tip to the final horn would be a good thing.
